Your money or your life

There's plenty in the media at the moment about the long hours worked by Australians. Then just last week, I was flicking through a business magazine and came across an article about the Head Honcho of a big global company.

The story followed his typical day…he arrives at 5am, works non-stop until 8pm then goes to a high-powered client dinner before returning home at midnight.

The article praised his legendary work ethic - he's followed the same gruelling routine for over 25 years.

But it got me wondering. What does such a single-minded approach cost in terms of sacrificing time for your family, friends, health and passions? Many people thrive happily on this sort of pace, but that doesn't mean it's for everyone.

The question "Do I take the money, or the time off?" is one soloists face every day. There's always work that can be done to grow your business, and it's easier to say yes to paid work than it is to say no. This can result in the same long hours, late nights and weekend work of traditional corporate life.

So, the million dollar question is…

- What's a weekend with friends worth?
- How much for a night with the family?
- What's the 'cost' of guitar lessons?
- What's a snooze on the grass worth?
- How much for a cuppa with your Mum?

The idealist in me says their value goes well beyond the opportunity cost to our businesses. After all it's the little things put together over the years that add up to one big, beautiful life full of family and friends.

Hard work, drive, ambition and leadership are all worthy pursuits, but not if you've sacrificed too many of the things that are important to you along the way.

But then the realist in me appreciates that the bills, mortgages, children and everyday life do require cold hard cash.

So, shall I do some work tonight or play some bad guitar? Perhaps my mortgage will answer for me!

Realistic or idealistic? We'd love to hear your tips and thoughts on how to strike a balance between your money and your life. Post a comment to let us know.

Peter Crocker is a director of Flying Solo responsible for the areas of marketing and advertising. He is a business copywriter specialising in websites, videos and marketing communications.

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It troubles me when I read about life balance and how many hours people work and that compromising those leads to sacrifices. Ian Thorpe was asked recently about balance and his response was "what's that?!" You do not get to achieve what he did without absolute focus and dedication. That CEO in the US probably does not perceive he is compromising anything - he probably loves it and perhaps not because of the money. I think a more valid discussion is about knowing what your values and goals are and how are you living up to them. No one can put a "value" on that except the individual and if you know know what your values and goals are, you will easily decide between options and in fact the clearer they are, there probably is no decision BA from Melbourne
You must put in the effort required to maintain the financial cost of your lifestyle (mortgage, holidays, entertainment, private school fees, new car every two years, etc).
If maintaining the financial cost of your lifestyle requires you to be at work from 5am to 8pm then this will affect your relationship with family, friends and your involvement with the community. This can come at a very high cost (i.e. divorce, nervous breakdown).
The trick is to balance the time and effort required at work to provide for your desired lifestyle. Scott Carpenter from Brisbane
Speaks volumes to me, 15 years in the design industry, 12 hour days on average including weekends and wham! Iam rewarded with bad health due to they say "stress, rediculous hours and not enough me time" I now keep it at 24 hours max a week, have put others in place to assist and as a result the customers are still serviced and the work gets done. I personally don't enjoy my business as much but at least I am alive and looking for new calmer waters GH from Adelaide
I have had to make hard decisions about what is really important to me. I spend more time with my family than I do in my business. I also have to constantly remind myself when I don't have the money for 'things' the reason for my decision. By spending time with my family I am living within my values and principals and that makes me a happier person. Pat from Adelaide
Balance is knowing that we have to pay a price for everything we do, and we need to measure what that price is and are we willing to pay it.
When it all comes down to is what is more important your children, your family or the possessions.
Do not get my wrong, home, clothes, food and whatnot are important, but being healthy, watching your children growing and not finding out that one day they grew up and do not know you is not worth it.
I think that people working stupid hours to pay for things that at the end of the day they may not have needed e.g 106cm TV or the brand new car that you are thinking of replacing simply because you have seen a flashier model is insane. Samatha Taylor from Canberra, Austalia
There is no known cure for brain death.
Egotism and greed are bad for your health.
If you need to abuse yourself to feel good about yourself get some psychotherapy. Evan Hadkins from Sydney, Australia

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